English Premier League 2019/2020 – Best Young Players

We are all chomping at the bit, for the 2019/2020 Premier League season to get underway. The emergence of exciting young talent is always a feature of this competition, particularly in the opening months. John Newsome has picked out 20 young men set to really make their mark. You can find John’s regular feature column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday.

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English Premier League 2019/2020 – Best Young Players

1. Gabriel Martinelli Aged 18 Arsenal

Gabriel is a young Brazilian Striker who has just penned a new contract at Arsenal after signing for a fee of £6 Million from Ituano FC at the beginning of July 2019. One of a number of Premier League new boys who has the distinction of being born in this Millennium having only just turned 18 in June.

Whilst Gabriel may not get the same game time as some of the other youngsters on show in various other Premier League sides, Gabriel, over the coming months, could quite easily push Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette for a place in the Gunners First Team.

On his debut in a recent Pre-Season game in America, Gabriel scored for Arsenal as Unai Emery’s side beat Colorado Rapids 3-0.

In Pre-Season Gabriel or Martinelli as he will become known, got a bit of game time and thought he’d scored his 2nd Gunners goal in the game against Lyon, however, was ruled out for offside.

Ituano FC may not be the commonest of the Brazilian teams and play at a very low level in Brazil’s footballing pyramid. Gabriel found his way to Ituano FC who are based in São Paulo via the more commonly known Corinthian’s where he started playing Futsal as a youngster.

The new Technical Director at the Emirates is former Gunners midfielder Edu who has gone back to his native Brazil to beat off the likes of Manchester United and Barcelona for his fellow Brazilian and has big hopes for Gabriel Martinelli.

His pace and hard work, that of a similar mould to current Brazilian International and Everton striker Richarlison, will go along way in making him a fans favourite at the Emirates and Gabriel will know that he has to work hard to appease the Gooners who do take some pleasing.

2. Ezri Konsa Aged 21 Aston Villa

Ezri Konsa made his name in football playing as a Centre-Back for Charlton Athletic before being snapped up by Brentford for around £2.5 Million in 2018.

After just a season with the Bees, Ezri gets his chance in the Premier League and has joined Premier League new boys Aston Villa in a deal worth around £12 Million.

The significant factor in signing for Aston Villa is Ezri links up again with current Villa boss Dean Smith, who managed the England Under-21 Centre-Back when he was in charge of the Bees.

Ezri has played for the England Under-21s and was part of the ill-fated trip to Italy for the UEFA Under-21 tournament this summer.

Fortunately for Big Ez he only played the final 40-odd minutes or so in the meaningless game against Croatia so cannot really be found culpable for the 2-defeats suffered earlier for Aidy Hoofroyd’s youngsters.

What Ezri does have in his favour which is worth more than gold is not only the advice and guidance of current Aston Villa manager Dean Smith, who was a very capable Centre-Back himself but much more in the advice and guidance of Villa Assistant Manager John Terry.

If Ezri Konsa becomes half the player that John Terry was then he will have a great career and JT can guide Ezri into Gareth Southgate’s Full England Squad.

Whilst John Terry is a bit like Marmite (other Yeast Extract products are available) such as when he dresses up in a full kit for a game he wasn’t playing in, what cannot be in doubt is the brilliant Centre-Back JT was throughout his career with Chelsea, Aston Villa, England and a few games on loan at Nottingham Forest at the beginning of his career.

Whilst playing for Aston Villa in the latter stages of his career it was noted just how good a Centre-Back JT was when he was on show at Oakwell.

Aston Villa comfortably beat Barnsley FC 3-0 that day in September 2017. John Terry had a sublime game marshalling the defence and controlling all around. It was argued whether he had to wash his shirt afterwards as there was limited sweat produced under such a cool performance and definitely no grass stains on his shorts as John didn’t need to go to ground against the Championship team in Red.

Some of the Reds faithful that day saw JT in a different light and found out just how good John Terry was.
Ezri has something else in common with JT in the fact that they both started their youth football at Senrab.

There are few clubs in the world, let alone Britain, that can boast of having such an influence on football as Senrab.

The Sunday League football club, based in the East End of London, has produced a huge number of Premier League stars and continues to provide an invaluable grounding for the footballers of tomorrow. Some of the names that have started at Senrab include the greats such as

Ashley Cole, Ledley King, Sol Campbell, and fellow Aston Villa ex-player and legend Ugo Ehiogu. As well as another legend who briefly passed through Villa Park that of Ray Wilkins.

English Football owes a debt of gratitude to Senrab.

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3. Douglas Luiz Aged 21 Aston Villa

Douglas Luiz or as he’s Brazilian will simply be known as Douglas and when he gets to the Midlands will become Dougie, has made the short move from Man City to Aston Villa.

The highly-rated Brazilian quit The Etihad for Villa Park in a £15 Million transfer subject to him securing a work permit to play in the Premier League.

That may become a stumbling block in the players future, bearing in mind that although Dougie was a City player, he couldn’t secure a work permit whilst in Manchester.

Pep’s High Flying City previously saw their requests shunned by The Football Association, whose work permit criteria for players from outside the European Union is rigorous.

However, Aston Villa are extremely confident that the midfielder’s application will be accepted and at £15 Million, is a snap in today’s inflated transfer market.

What will be the difference for Villa’s acceptance of a Work Permit is that Dougie will play regularly for Dean Smith, whereas Pep couldn’t guarantee this, thus it was harder for City to get the application granted.

Douglas joined City from Brazil’s Vasco da Gama in 2017 but never played a game for the Premier League champions. The Centre-Midfielder spent the past two seasons on loan at Girona, making 46 appearances for the Spanish side.

Young Douglas is an extremely talented player with outstanding control in both feet and should fit nicely into the Premier League. He is a tall muscular player who is of similar stature and style of a Jordan Henderson or a Cesc Fabrigas and should quickly become a fan favourite on the Holte End.

With Jack Grealish and Conor Hourihane by his side, Villa will have a midfield to rival any of the top sides and whether they win or lose will definitely be good to watch.

Douglas was player of the tournament at the Toulon Tournament in France this June as Brazil Under-21s won the competition. Dean Smith makes Dougie his 10th signing so far. The main problem that brings is trying to integrate them all and keep everyone happy when not playing.

Fulham did the same last season and found their way back to the Championship quicker than Usain Bolt nipping to the shops.

Dean Smith and John Terry will hope their new signings are not Fulham Flip Flops.

4. Lloyd Kelly Aged 20 Bournemouth

Lloyd Casius Kelly is an athletic Defender comfortable as a Centre-Back as well as out wide in the Left-Back position.

After just a season and a half playing for his home town club of Bristol City, Lloyd has earned a well-deserved move to the Premier League with Eddie Howe taking a chance on the young England Under-21 starlet.

Eddie and the Cherries have shelled out in the region of £13 Million for Lloyd which is a lot of money to pay a Championship club like Bristol City who must feel like they have won the lottery.

Kelly had been linked with a host of Premier League clubs after an impressive season with Bristol City, making 34 appearances as the Robins finished eighth in the Championship.

Still only 20, Lloyd was one of the lucky ones who missed the first two games of England’s Under-21 defeats in this summers UEFA Under-21.

Aidy Boothroyd selected Lloyd for the 3rd and final meaningless game against Croatia which England struggled to a 3-3 draw.

Lloyd played the full 90-minutes at Left-Back for the Young Lions who had already checked out of their Italian Hotel.

Lloyd has played a few times at that level and was also called in to train with Gareth Southgate’s full England squad prior to the Under-21 adventure in Italy.

Eddie Howe got the deal done as soon as the Transfer Window was a jar and could well have stolen a march on his fellow Premier League rivals in the signing of Lloyd Kelly.

With a middle name of Casius, Lloyd will definitely have some fight in him and won’t be frightened of a Premier League 15-Round challenge.

5. Tammy Abraham Aged 21 Chelsea

Tammy is the first of a quadruple of the Chelsea Under-21 youngsters who could have a big impact on the Blues Premier League campaign under Frank Lampard and Jodie Morris.

Along with Mason Mount, Tammy is well known to Jodie Morris having played for Jodie in the Chelsea Under-23s.

Tammy had made two brief appearances for the first-team back at the end of the 2015/2016 season but then has spent the majority of his career out on loan.

Like Mason Mount, Tammy had a successful period out on loan last term getting to the Play-off Final.

However, what was different for Tammy, as opposed to Mason, was Tammy didn’t go with Mason to Frank Lampard’s Derby, Tammy went to Aston Villa who beat Derby in that Final to earn Villa promotion to the Premier League.

Aston Villa do have another Blues legend as Assistant Manager in John Terry and Tammy could quite possibly find his way back to Villa Park if Frank Lampard’s Chelsea feel he is surplus to requirements.

With Alvaro Morata and Gonzalo Higuain no longer at Stamford Bridge and Eden Hazard departing for Real Madrid, Chelsea find their Forward options ever-decreasing and only have Olivier Giroud, Willian and Michy Batshuayi as recognised Strikers so the time may have come for Tammy to step up to the plate and take his Blues chance.

Like Mason also, Tammy was part of Aidy Hoofroyd’s ill-fated England Under-21s squad in Italy playing 16-minutes in the 2-1 defeat against France ( the majority of which as a full-back, cheers Ady! ), 14-minutes in the 4-2 defeat against Romania but did manage to score in those 14-minutes and a full 90-minutes in the final meaningless 3-3 draw against Croatia.

Like Callum Hudson-Odoi, Christian Pulisic and Mason, Tammy could have a big season at Stamford Bridge and could just make his way into Gareth Southgate’s full England Squad.

Tammy scored recently in a 2-1 Pre-Season victory against Barcelona and has been offered the Number 9 shirt at Frank Lampard’s Chelsea but hopes the shirt number won’t weigh heavy following in the footsteps of some of the previous wearers of that Number 9.

The most recent, Gonzalo Higuain, has returned home to join Sarri-Ball at Juventus, Alvaro Morata, Fernando Torres, Radamal Falcao, Hernan Crespo, Mateja Kezman all wore the famous goalscorer’s shirt as did Khalid Boulahrouz, who was a Defender and Steve Sidwell, a defensive Midfielder not noted for his goal-scoring prowess.

Plus, if the burden of the Number 9 starts to take its toll and things don’t work out at Stamford Bridge just yet, Dean Smith and John Terry would welcome Tammy back to Villa Park with open arms.

6. Callum Hudson-Odoi Aged 18 Chelsea

Callum is one of the very rare Premier League talents who wasn’t born until the start of the new Millennium.

Callum has a big season in front of him but unfortunately will have to start the campaign in the stands after suffering an Achilles injury.

The ruptured Achilles injury happened against Burnley towards the end of last season which not only meant Callum missed the run in and the Europa League Final but also was unable to join up with the full England squad for the UEFA Nations League competition in Portugal.

Reports coming out of Stamford Bridge are positive and it appears Callum is back doing light training so good news for the Blues faithful who will see Callum as a possible high profile replacement for the departed Eden Hazard and it won’t be a surprise to see Callum in Eden’s Number 10 shirt if Chelsea persuade him to stay.

Bayern Munich are still interested in signing Callum and have had a number of bids rejected by the Blues one being close to £40 Million.

Chelsea, now renamed Frank Lampard’s Chelsea, have important decisions to make regarding the future of Callum Hudson-Odoi. Callum has only one-year remaining on his Blues contract and Frank won’t want to let him leave for nothing next year.

It’s likely that the departure of Sarri-Ball and the arrival of Frank has changed the mindset of Callum and his advisors and with Chelsea’s Transfer Embargo for at least two windows, Frank needs to sort out Callum’s future pretty lively.

Over the coming weeks, the Blues faithful may hear the good news that Callum has signed a new contract at Stamford Bridge which could see the 18-Year-Old earn a staggering £100,000 a week.

Things have definitely moved on from the £27.50 a week that 18-Year-Old’s used to get on the Youth Training Scheme (YTS) Thatcher’s Britain!

One thing that is for certain at only 18, Callum Hudson-Odoi has the potential to not only be the face of Chelsea but also the face of England for a long time to come.

7. Mason Mount Aged 20 Chelsea

Mason has done what Callum hasn’t yet and signed a new contract at Chelsea. The 20-year-old has penned a new 5-year deal with the Blues.

However, Mason hasn’t done what Callum has yet and that is played for the Chelsea first team in a competitive match which Mason is still waiting to do.

Mason played all last season for Frank Lampard’s Derby helping Derby almost achieve the dream of promotion to the Premier League.

Unfortunately for Mason and Frank Lampard’s Derby the Rams just fell short and lost against Aston Villa in the Play-off final.

Mount did score a few vital goals for Derby in the build-up to the Play-off final scoring a superb hat-trick against Bolton, a goal, which the Spy had warned, against Leeds in the Semi-Final of that Play-off and Derby’s first successful penalty in the Carabao Cup win over Manchester United.

With Jodie Morris, who was Mason’s Under-23 Manager at Chelsea, Frank knew Mason Mount’s potential and had no hesitation in taking him on loan to Derby and now offering Mason a new 5-year deal at Stamford Bridge.

With the Transfer Embargo, Mason will get game time this season.

Mason got minutes under his belt for the England Under-21s in the ill-fated UEFA Under-21 Tournament in Italy, managing 20-minutes in the 2-1 defeat against France, the full 90-minutes in the 4-2 defeat against Romania and 35-minutes in the 3-3 draw against Croatia.

Mason also scored a goal on his debut for the Blues at the beginning of the Pre-Season games in Ireland.
It’s now up to Eminem to show the Blues faithful what the Derby faithful enjoyed last term.

8. Christian Pulisic Aged 20 Chelsea

Christian Pulisic is the fourth member of Frank Lampard’s Chelsea Under-21 brigade, however, Christian didn’t play for the ill-fated England Under-21s in the recent tournament in Italy.

Christian is an American and has represented the USA at all levels growing up in Pennsylvania before moving to Germany to start his playing career at Borussia Dortmund.

Whilst in Germany and with Croatian Ancestry, the Croatian National Football Team offered Christian the chance to start his international journey for Croatia.

Christian declined and the then Manager of USA and German legend Jurgen Klinsmann who had followed Christian’s career in Germany called Christian up to the USA National Team at the age of just 17.

At only 20, Christian is now the Captain of the USA National side and played against England at Wembley in a friendly prior to the 2018 World Cup which USA failed to qualify.

England beat USA on that occasion 3-0 but Christian’s performance that day and previous and subsequent performances for Borussia Dortmund, lead Chelsea to spend £58 Million on the American in January and then loan the 20-year-old straight back to Borussia Dortmund for the second half of last season.

Due to Chelsea’s Transfer Embargo, this could have been seen as a smart move and the Blues can bring Christian in without it affecting the Embargo.

Christian made his Chelsea debut in a friendly defeat to Japanese champions Kawasaki Frontale in Yokohama.

Chelsea did struggle in humid conditions and its early days for Frank Lampard and Christian, however, Christian, who replaced Mason Mount in the second half, failed to make an impression in the 1-0 defeat.

Christian did improve in his first full start for the Blues in the Pre-season game against Barcelona which resulted in a great 2-1 victory for Frank Lampard’s Chelsea.

What the Chelsea fans should not do, as it would be completely unfair and have too much of a burden on the Young American, is try and compare Christian to Eden Hazard.

The fee paid for Christian could warrant the Blues faithful to say that he is a replacement for Eden but in truth, there aren’t many players on the planet, who can get close to Real Madrid’s new Galactico.

Christian is a natural number-10 and the fact he can use both feet means he can play on either flank and will commit a lot of the Premier League defenders into fouls against him.

The coming few months won’t define his career at Stamford Bridge but the American will want to show the Blues faithful what he can offer early doors and could make a great impact on Frank Lampard’s Chelsea.

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9. Harvey Barnes Aged 21 Leicester

Harvey Barnes is another youngster who has a big season in front of him and could be one of the shining lights for Brendan Rodgers and Leicester City.

Harvey started last season’s campaign on loan at West Bromwich Albion but because he kept outshining the opposition in the Championship and Leicester not doing that particularly well in the Premier League, the then boss at Leicester Inspector Clouseau aka Claude Puel decided to recall young Harvey.

Aidy Hoofroyd who apparently is the leading light in England’s Youth Development (not !) gave Harvey approximately 45-minutes in 3-games in the ill-fated UEFA Under-21 Tournament in Italy this summer.

Back in August 2017, Harvey joined Championship club Barnsley FC on a season-long loan. It didn’t take Big H long to score his first Reds goal and what a team to score against, that of Sunderland.

Because of his outstanding performances for the Reds, Leicester took him back again but didn’t use Harvey and let him out on loan once more.

Brendan must now keep Harvey at the King Power and young H will benefit from Brendan being at Leicester City.
He’s Celtic, United but Brendan has decided that the best place that he’d rather be is Leicester.

Harvey Barnes is a tremendous young talent who has been at Leicester since a youngster but is fondly thought of in Barnsley after his loan stint at Oakwell.

(www.halftimepie.co.uk)
Good luck for the future Harvey.

10. James Justin Aged 21 Leicester

After helping his home town club Luton gain back-to-back promotion from League 2 to the Championship, the young inspirational Right-Back earned a Transfer to the Premier League and signed for Leicester City.

Predominantly a Right-Back James has been signed by Brendan Rodgers to come in and cover in a number of roles throughout the Defence and Midfield.

Rod Stewart has only just stopped crying his heart out after Brendan left Rod’s beloved Celtic to manage a proper team in a proper league South of the Border.

Under Brendan, James has the potential to become a Foxes Great, for the time being, that is, as once he is established, the so-called ‘big boys’ will snap Double J up.

Along with his Luton teammate James Collins, James Justin was in the 2018/2019 PFA League One Team of the Year which included 5 Barnsley FC players who finished Runners-Up to Luton.

Adam Davies, Dimitri Cavare, Ethan Pinnock, Alex Mowatt and Kieffer Moore all joined James Justin in the PFA League One Team of the Year.

Like James, Adam Davies and Ethan Pinnock have earned transfers away from their Promotion Winning Clubs and the Barnsley FC faithful thank the two and wish both players all the best for the future.

Brendan made James Justin his first Leicester City signing. Rodgers won the race to sign Right-Back Jimmy J from Luton Town for £10 Million ahead of rivals and Premier League new boys Aston Villa.

Crystal Palace were also rumoured to be after James as a replacement for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

James’s first comment after signing for the Foxes was “I’m over the moon. I feel like I’m ready for this moment. I hope to bring a lot of energy and commitment to the badge,”

The first thing to take from that statement is “over the moon!”

Rarely is that phrase used nowadays but was a mainstay of the post-match interviews in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Kevin Keegan and Peter Beardsley were often heard saying “I’m over the moon.”

James Justin has played for England International Youth Teams but hasn’t reached the Under-21s yet which will be his next target.

With Danny Simpson now out of the club, James can make the Right-Back position his own at the King Power and could rival Aaron Wan-Bissaka for that position in the Under-21s.

11. Trent Alexander-Arnold Aged 20 Liverpool

Trent Alexandra-Arnold has the unlikely distinction of playing in not only one Champions League Final but two.

Trent was the youngest Liverpool player to start in a Champions League Final when he played in the Final against Real Madrid in May 2018.

Whilst the game ended in defeat for Liverpool and Trent, it gave the catalyst for T-Double-A to kick-on for the 2018/2019 season and his performances for Liverpool helped the Reds run Pep’s High Flying City to within a point of the Premier League Title and return Liverpool to the Final of the Champions League which they beat Tottenham 2-0 to secure their 6th European Cup and Trent’s first after the heartache of the previous year.

Trent is a native of Liverpool and the Anfield faithful have taken young Terence Trent Darby to their hearts.

Following Liverpool’s victory in the Champions League Final, Trent, along with Jordan Henderson, headed straight to Portugal to join up with the England Squad for the participation in the UEFA Nations League against Holland.

What was strange about that UEFA Nations League Semi-Final game against Holland was Gareth Southgate decided not to include Trent and Jordan in the starting line-up whereas Ronald Koeman had no hesitation in including Trent’s Liverpool team-mates and fellow Champions League Winners, Virgil Van Dijk and Georgi Wijnaldum in his starting line-up and both subsequently played the full 120-minutes after the game went to extra-time following a 1-1 scoreline at full-time.

Maybe that’s the difference between England winning competitions and not always failing at the Semi-Final stage.

Always play the best players available of which Trent Alexander-Arnold is definitely one of them.

Trent’s delivery of a free kick or cross is up there with David Beckham and it would not be a surprise if he is seen playing in a midfield role in some games throughout the coming season.

12. Rhian Brewster Aged 19 Liverpool

Rhian Brewster is another one of those rare Premier League talents that were born in this new Millennium.

There will be more come through in the coming season’s that is just evolution but there currently aren’t that many players who are regular’s for a Premier League club who are born in the Noughties.

Rhian Brewster has been on fire this summer. Four goals in three games so far, having been on the field just 120-minutes, have made young Rhian the talk of Liverpool’s pre-season.

At 19-years-old, Rhian is now poised to make it into Jurgen’s full Liverpool team to compete in the Top Flight having not yet made his senior Premier League debut.

However a couple of years back, Jurgen gave a long interview ( he rarely gives a short interview! ) in which he hinted that there was a wonderkid in the Liverpool Academy for whom he had extremely high hopes for.

It was assumed at the time that Big Jurgen was referring to Trent Alexander-Arnold but Mr Klipperty might just have been referring to Rhian Brewster.

Unlike Trent Double-A, Rhian is not a native of Liverpool having been born and brought up in London.

Rhian is a Cock-er-ney but is now an adopted Liver Bird who will be hoping to hit the ground running once Jurgen lets the reigns off him.

If pre-season is anything to go by, Pep and the rest should start taking note of the young striker who penned a Five-Year deal with Liverpool recently so will be a force at Anfield for the foreseeable future.

The only slight worry for Brewster’s Millions is the obvious issue in the number of players he’s behind in terms of getting competitive first-team minutes.

It really is conceivable to imagine getting to November or December and Rhian hasn’t played any minutes for Jurgen. It doesn’t feel like that will happen.

It feels like it’s all coming together for Rhian but with players such as Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Divock Origi all vying for a place up top for Jurgen’s Red’s, Rhian Brewster cannot take anything for granted and will have to let his talent and hard work shine through.

One thing that is for certain is Jurgen’s Youngsters will once again be the main threat to Pep’s Pups attempt to regain the Premier League Title.

13. Sepp Van den Berg Aged 17 Liverpool

Sepp is the youngest of the New Millennials who could have a big impact on the new Premier League campaign. At only 17, Jurgen Klopp has put his faith in the youngster and sees Sepp as possibly the next Virgil Van Dijk.

Van den Berg had been waiting for FIFA international clearance before being allowed to make his debut for his new team but was named in Klopp’s squad for the Pre-Season game against Sporting Lisbon over in America.

The Reds took on the Portuguese side at the Yankee Stadium in New York after playing the previous friendly at Boston Red Socks Fenway Park.

Sepp got 2-minutes at the end of the game against Sporting in the Yankee Stadium and whilst it must have been a great buzz finally getting game time for the Reds, it must be a strange feeling playing in a Baseball Stadium.

Jurgen’s Youngsters take on Pep’s Pups in the season showcase opener now known as the Community Shield which older football fans will remember it as the Charity Shield.

Young Sepp will be hoping for at least a place on the bench at Wembley for the game which traditionally is played against the Premier League winners and the FA Cup winners to whet the appetite for the upcoming new season.

As Pep’s High Flying City won both of those competitions, Liverpool were invited after running City close in last season’s Premier League finish.

Liverpool have only paid just over £1 Million which in today’s uncomprehending Transfer Market is loose change.
The fee could potentially rise to £4 Million but again is still loose change for a 17-year old.

Sepp made 15 appearances in the Dutch Eredivisie last season, helping Zwolle to a 13th place finish so has had game time in a first-team scenario. With fellow Dutch Centre-Back Matthijs de Ligt being only 19 and ending up joining Juventus earlier this month in a £67 Million deal, paying £4 Million or so for Sepp is money for rope.

Sepp has made the International scene already playing for the Netherlands at Under-19 level winning four caps to date. At 17, Sepp Van Den Berg could well become an Anfield regular over the next couple of years.

14. Phil Foden Aged 19 Man City

Phil Foden, like Rhian Brewster, Gabriel Martinelli, Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi, has the distinction of being a rare Premier League player to be born in this Millennium.

David Silva is entering his final season at City but Pep may not need to look too far in a natural successor for David with young England starlet Foden waiting in the wings.

Young Phil, along with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Ezri Konza, Lloyd Kelly, Mason Mount, Morgan Gibbs-Wright, Harvey Barnes and Tammy Abraham, has recently played for the England Under-21s at the European Championship in Italy.

After losing the first game 2-1 against France which Phil scored an utterly sublime individual goal, Aidy decided to leave Phil out of the starting lineup in the second game against Romania stating Phil was ‘tired’.

TIRED! 19-years old and a professional footballer who has only played 13-times for City in the previous season and Aidy Hoofroyd thinks Phil’s tired.

After playing against France, it is hard to explain what possessed Aidy to leave arguably the most gifted and precocious player in his squad on the bench and save him until their final meaningless match versus Croatia.

Phil Foden is an outstanding attacking talent and to not play him is beyond comprehension.

These so-called managers think they are above the average football fan and try and over-complicate the simple game.
At least Phil has the best manager in the World since Sir Alex Ferguson in Pep Guardiola at his Premier League Club to compensate for the lack of knowledge that Ady Hoofroyd provides.

The slight negative to Phil and it is only slight, is he is all left-footed which on the surface doesn’t appear a problem, as so is David Silva but Phil has the same running style as another ex-English protege in Jack Wilshere.

Jack has been plagued by injuries over the years and his running style could have been a factor in the numerous times Jack has been sidelined.

Phil just needs to watch himself and maybe use his right-foot a bit more.

Phil has another distinction in the fact that he was part of the England Under-17 side that won the Prestigious World Cup for that particular age group in India in 2017 and was one of the most successful players from England’s Under-21 side. The Stockport Iniesta scored twice in the final and won the Golden Ball award for the best player at the tournament.

The other note able names in that World Cup Winning team with Phil were Callum Hudson-Odoi, Jadon Sancho and probably the next big star to make his name this season, that of Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster.

Brewster was one of England’s star players in that Under-17 World Cup tournament win, scoring eight goals to win the Golden Boot award and is very highly thought of at Liverpool where he is hoping to break through in Jurgen’s first team this season.

Phil Foden should get more game time himself this coming season too.

15. Aaron Wan-Bissaka Aged 21 Manchester United

Aaron finally got his move to Old Trafford with United paying a reported £50 Million to Crystal Palace for the English Right-Back.

Although United have had to shell out over £50 Million for young Double A-Ron, the fee is relative in today’s market.
If noisy neighbours City can pay £60 Million to Atletico Madrid for players then why can’t United give a fellow English club some dollar to help the British game.

With Ole at the wheel, bringing in young, fast, fit, enthusiastic and hungry British talent, United still have a chance to bridge the gap between themselves and City, Liverpool and Tottenham as well as Chelsea and Arsenal.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was another member of Aidy Boothroyd’s England Under-21s and even was culpable in the 2-1 defeat against France in the opener.

Aaron, unfortunately, scored a disastrous own goal in the dying seconds of the game against France gifting Les Bleus the win.

Double A-Ron is predominately right-footed and his reluctance to use his left-peg resulted in him turning the ball into his own net. Nice one Wan.

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how it’s looked at, Aaron didn’t play for the England Under-21s in the 4-2 defeat against Romania and the 3-3 draw against Croatia.

United’s first Pre-Season game was out in Australia which saw Ole start Diogo Dalot at Right-Back and Ashley Young at Left-Back.

Both must feel that their game time at Old Trafford will be extremely restricted with the arrival of Wan-Bissaka.
Aaron came on at the start of the Second-half against Perth Glory then started the following game against Leeds United. It’s rumoured Crocodile Dundee was in the Perth Glory end on a Spying Mission for Marcelo Bielsa.

However, Big Mick Dundee couldn’t provide any real knowledge that gave Leeds an advantage and stop United hammering Leeds 4-0 following the victory against Perth Glory.

United have subsequently gone on to beat Tottenham and Inter Milan and are gearing up nicely for the opening Premier League game against Chelsea.

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16. Dan James Aged 21 Manchester United

Dan James is a Welsh Flying machine in the mould of Gareth Bale and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s former teammate Ryan Giggs. Ole went early in the Transfer market signing Wales International Dan from Swansea.

Dan is only 21 and potentially has a great future ahead of him.

Ole may just have signed Dan so he can get him to persuade his Welsh teammate Gareth Bale to come to Manchester. Or if Gareth isn’t interested, maybe Dan can persuade Barnsley FC player Kieffer Moore who was recently called up to the Wales squad by Ryan Giggs.

Things could have been a bit different for Dan as only in January of this year, Dan was in Leeds ahead of a move to the Championship side of West Yorkshire.

With his Leeds Spy kit all ready Dan was set to join but a disagreement about payment between the two clubs meant the deal fell through at the 11th-hour and Dan returned to South Wales.

Six-months later Dan is now a Manchester United player.

One thing to watch out for in Dan James is his exceptional speed. Dan has blistering pace which United have lacked over the last few years.

Dan was actually born in England and could have been one of Gareth Southgate’s men but with a Welsh father, Dan chose to play for Wales.

Dan’s father Kevan was a very proud Welshman and would have been immensely proud of his son now playing for Manchester United. Unfortunately, Dan’s father passed away in May of this year and Dan will carry his memory with him to Old Trafford.

17. Marcus Rashford Aged 21 Manchester United

Marcus is surprisingly almost the exact same age as Dan James with only 11-days separating the two Manchester United starlets, however, Marcus is light years ahead of Dan in his Manchester United career.

With 111 first-team appearances already under his belt and more than 30 England caps, Marcus is fast becoming a Manchester United and England stalwart with the World at his footballing feet.

With uncertainty surrounding Romelu Lukaku’s future at Old Trafford, this really could be a pivotal season for Marcus with the chance to firmly cement his position as the Manchester United main striker.

What Marcus does have in his favour is the fact that he has one of the greatest finishers in the history of Manchester United and the game as his Manager in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who can impart his vast knowledge of the scoring game on Marcus to help Marcus become one of the game’s greats.

As a product of the Manchester United Academy and a native of Greater Manchester, Marcus has already got the Old Trafford faithful on his side but must not rest on his laurels and must continue to learn each day throughout his career.

It’s sometimes forgotten how young Marcus is at only 21 but already has the maturity to become a United legend and showed that maturity by taking the last-minute penalty in Paris to secure United’s famous last-16 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s Champions League.

Marcus has had a great Pre-season scoring 2-goals in United’s victories against Perth Glory and Leeds United following on from his goal against Holland in the UEFA Nations League Semi-Final for England.

With Dan James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the United 11, Ole is fast assembling a Pink Devil side that will try and bridge the gap between themselves, Liverpool and Noisy Neighbours City.

18. Sean Longstaff Aged 21 Newcastle

Sean Longstaff could potentially be the outstanding Young Player of the Season if things fall into place for the young Magpie.

At the moment there are all sorts of speculation regarding a move to Manchester United with United and Ed Woodward trying to get a deal done for the Geordie.

Bizarrely, what could be seen as a stumbling block for the move to proceed, could actually be the catalyst.

Under normal circumstances, a new manager at a club would do his utmost to keep his star players but Steve Bruce may just sanction the deal to see Sean move to Old Trafford considering Bruce is a United legend.

Rod Stewart is still not happy.

At a recent gig in Newcastle, Big Rod, just after he had dried his eyes, asked the audience if Steve Bruce would be a good choice at Newcastle and half the crowd cheered and half the crowd booed.

Firstly, that doesn’t make sense and B, how does Rod know all his fans at the concert are Newcastle United fans.
Half of them were probably Sunderland fans who would love Big Brucey to take over at St James Park.

United are ready to test Newcastle and Mike Ashley’s resolve to keep Sean by making a £30 Million bid for the midfielder. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made Longstaff a priority signing as he looks to rebuild his team around the best young British talent by trying to add Sean to the signings of Dan James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

However, Newcastle value the 21-Year-old at £50 Million and believe that with United paying £50 Million for Double-A Ron, the benchmark as been set but United feel Newcastle’s asking price is too much for a player who has made just 13 senior appearances for the Magpies.

Everyone knows Mike Ashley likes a bit of Ducking and Diving in his Business dealings and could be considered as the Del Boy of the Footballing World.

His Sports Direct emporium is full of deals and maybe Ed Woodward and United could ask for a BOGOF deal.

The Equaliser could say to Mr Ashley that if United pay £50 Million for one Longstaff, Mike should through in another one for free.

Sean’s younger brother Matthew is also a Newcastle player and at only 19 has a couple of years on his older sibling to fulfil his own potential as a midfielder.

Sean could become the same player as his fellow Geordie and United First-Team Coach Michael Carrick was at Old Trafford. Although Michael started his career at West Ham, he is a native of Newcastle but never played for the Magpies.

Sean, although in his footballing infancy, has the same Athletic Attributes as Mr Carrick and
if Sean becomes half the player Michael Carrick was then United will have a real player on their books.

Liverpool and Chelsea fans will argue their own favourites of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are better than Michael Carrick and whilst these two won more England caps then Michael, that was down to the shortsightedness of a number of England Managers.

The Greatest Manager ever, Sir Alex Ferguson picked Carrick continuously and Gerrard and Lampard can’t match Michael’s domestic honours.

Michael has enjoyed phenomenal success, winning 5 Premier League title’s, 1 FA Cup, 1 UEFA Champions League, 3 League Cup’s, 6 FA Community Shield’s, 1 UEFA Europa League and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. As well as numerous individual honours.

A true Legend at Old Trafford, shame England Manager’s thought they knew better than Sir Alex.

Sean Longstaff will be a miss at St James Park if the move to Old Trafford becomes a reality but under Ole and Michael Carrick, Sean could make his way into Gareth Southgate’s England Midfield and compete against Declan Rice for the prestigious England position.

19. Moussa Djenepro Aged 21 Southampton

Moussa Djenepro is a Malian Striker who can play all across the front-line and comes to St Mary’s via Belgium.

Southampton have signed Moussa on a Four-year contract from Standard Liege in a deal that could rise to £15 Million. The 21-Year-Old passed his medical at Southampton then joined up with Mali to prepare for the African Cup of Nations in Egypt where the young forward saw action in Three of the Five games Mali competed in Egypt but unfortunately didn’t find the net in any of the three games.

Moussa did score 11 times last season for Standard Liege as he helped them to a Third-Place finish in the Belgium Top Flight and qualification for the dreaded Europa League.

Wreck-It Ralph Hasenhuttl is starting to assemble his own squad together to try and get Southampton away from a relegation battle endured this last couple of seasons which saw the Saints finish just above the bottom three, which is in stark contrast to the 2016/2017 season which saw them finish in 8th.

Moussa is the 3rd frontman heading for St Mary’s to join fellow new signings Danny Ings and Che Adams.

Along with Nathan Redmond, the Saints are now starting to focus on scoring goals which have come at a premium over the last few years.

20. Morgan Gibbs-White Aged 19 Wolves

Morgan Gibbs-White has a big breakthrough season ahead of him after featuring for Wolves in the successful Asia Trophy which is a prestigious Pre-Season Tournament that takes place every 2-years in Asia.

Morgan scored for England in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup final and has been a regular for Wolves under Nuno Espírito Santo in the Wolves team that gained promotion to the Premier League as Championship winners back in 2017/2018.

Morgan’s progress has continued in the Premier League, where he has made 26 top-flight appearances so far and should feature in Wolves upcoming Europa League adventure.

Another new Millennium player, Morgan is actually far more advanced then his fellow Premier League Millennials having been a regular for Nuno last term.

Another also is that Morgan had the luck of escaping the first 2 games in this summers horrendous UEFA Under-21 Tournament for England in the defeats against France and Romania. Aidy Hoofroyd gave Morgan Gibbs-White a total of 17-minutes in the last meaningless game against Croatia but Aidy can’t be criticised it’s not allowed.

Nuno Espírito Santo gave Morgan a bit more game-time in the Asia Trophy playing MGW for an hour in both games against Newcastle and Man City.

As mentioned Wolves were successful in that Asia Trophy and take the confidence in that win into the Prelims of the Europa League.

Wolves beat current Premier League champions Man City to win the pre-season Premier League Asia Trophy following a bizarre penalty shootout in Nanjing China.

Four of the first five penalties were saved or missed before Wolves ’keeper Rui Patricio denied Pep’s High Flying City’s Lukas Nmecha to give Wolves a 3-2 shootout victory.

The game was level at 0-0 following 90-minutes of an attritional match in which City dominated possession.

Man City’s Raheem Sterling missed a penalty in the first half that surely would have been a catalyst to a City win as Pep’s Pups were head and shoulders above Wolves.

However, that is football and if you don’t take your chances you can ultimately lose. Raheem’s spot-kick was one of the worse penalties ever.

Morgan had been substituted come the penalty shootout so wasn’t involved but the young Millennial has a big season ahead of him. He played just over 80-minutes in Wolves Europa League debut and played his part in the comfortable 2-0 victory over Ireland’s Crusaders.

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